Stay With Me
by Psycho Politician
Summary: Peeta usually hates school because he doesn't like the kids who go to school with him, but when he starts school at Panem High School he realizes that not every teenager is as bad as he thought.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The deep orange colored sunset shone through my bedroom window, the peaceful light must have woken me up because very slowly my eyelids had begun to separate. '_Wow. That's amazing. It looks like today is going to be a beautiful day...'_ I remember thinking, and then the wretched blaring of my alarm clock sounded. It was 6AM. Without even thinking about it I had slammed my fist down on the clock making the sound stop, almost immediately after I felt the terrible pain in my fist where I had struck the clock. The pain slowly brought the realization back into my mind that today was my first day of Senior year at a new high school..._"Fuck" _I muttered aloud.

I flung the covers off my legs and stepped out of bed, after standing up put my arms above my head and stretched my body while hearing every bone in my body let out a quiet snap. I walked across my small bedroom into my bathroom; I stripped down and turned on the shower. After getting in I lost all sense discomfort as the warm water surrounded my short, but yet muscular body. But still, one thing couldn't escape my mind...School. I had never disliked school at all, I loved learning new things and my grades reflected that. I don't ever remember getting anything lower than %95 on a test or not turning in a homework assignment, but the thing that made it so terrible was the kids. School was a place I succeeded academically, but not socially. My family moves a lot, so I learned to not have best friends because in 6 months we could be moving 200 miles away, or more.

But what really put a damper on my social life was not my attitude or my personality; it was the fact that I was gay. Whatever school I seemed to go to people would make a desperate attempt to make me feel as bad as possible about myself. I learned to just ignore them, but of course words hurt, I just learned to not show other kids my pain. I always try and have a good attitude about things, but it's just hard sometimes. I guess the best thing I can do is to try and make a good impression on the first day of my last year in high school.

. . .

I dried myself off and stepped into my room naked, I usually don't have to worry about other people in my room because my parents are usually gone at work by the time I wake up, they both work night shifts so that gives me the entire house to myself from 9PM till 9AM, I flung on a simple t-shirt and a pair of shorts then heard my phone go off. I looked at the screen and saw my mom's message:

-Have a great first day! Stay Safe!

My parents always trusted me when they left for work, they think I'm not the kind of boy who would have huge parties at the house or go and get wasted. I can't say that I have **not** done things like that, they just think I haven't. I slipped on some socks and my green pair of converse and headed out of my room. I walked down our small and dark hallway and down the stairs to our kitchen. I grabbed some cereal and opened the fridge and pulled out the milk that was nearly gone. I used the last of it to eat my cereal with. After eating I went back upstairs and brushed my teeth and grabbed my backpack and walked back downstairs and out the front door.

The morning sun shined brightly off the hood of my car. I had a black Jeep Cherokee that was given to me on my 16th birthday. I got inside and started up the engine. I had to look at the small map I printed out last night to remember where the school was. _"345 Everdeen Road" _I repeated to myself trying to remember the address. I pulled out of the driveway and was on my way to school. Driving was always relaxing to me, something about the scenery just calmed me down, and no matter where I was I could find beauty in anything. I thought about the way I was going to present myself when I got to school and before I knew it, I was at 345 Everdeen Road.

The school appeared to be huge, one of the biggest I've seen. The tall building read in bold golden letters** 'PANEM HIGH SCHOOL'. **After looking for a parking space for a good ten minutes I finally found one and pulled in, the parking lot was huge here which probably meant that there were a lot of kids.I sat in my jeep and saw that I had about thirty minutes until the bell rang to go to class. I looked at my schedule and saw there was a six minute passing period and that my first period was Art. _'At least it's not Gym or Trigonometry' _I thought. Having art first period gave me even more time to wake up before actually going to a challenging class.

I had about ten minutes left so I decided to go inside, I opened my car door but I felt it hit something. I looked to see a tall boy with dark hair holding his side. _'Shit'_ I thought. I got out and looked at the boy, "I am so sorry, are you okay?" I said to him. He just smiled at me with a pair of grey eyes that made my mind melt. He kind of chuckled and then replied," Yeah, I'm fine. No worries." His voice was deep and strong. The handsome boy then offered his hand. "I'm Gale." He said. I reached out trying to act as confident as possible, but when I touched his strong hand I almost forgot to shake it, then I realized I should probably introduce myself. . "Peeta." I said while giving his hand a firm but not too firm shake. "Are you sure you're okay? I hit you pretty hard." I asked. I hope I'm not worrying too much; it was just a car door. He smiles that beautiful smile again," I'm fine, don't worry it was just a car door." He reassures. '_Did he just read my mind?_'

He was probably a head taller than me and his short dark brown hair was the exact opposite to my shaggy blond hair. I examined his features with subtle concentration, and then I realized I was probably staring. I was about to bid him goodbye when I heard him ask curiously," So you're one of the new Seniors I suppose, can I see your schedule?"

"Sure." I say as I grinned, I tried to appear relaxed but on the inside my heart was turning inside my chest. I held the piece of paper out to him and he grabbed it and looked over it with his beautiful grey eyes.

"Wow." He says, I start to get worried.

"What?" I say with a smile, trying to look calm and collected. He looks up at me and smiles back.

"We have every class together besides Gym." He says with a cheerful grin on his face.

I start to realize that my knees are starting to shake and lightly cling against each other. '_What is wrong with me? This isn't even a big deal. I'll probably be moving again come second term anyways.' _I knew I needed to keep my distance, I mean I just met this guy literally minutes ago and I am already trembling whenever he smiles.

"That's awesome." I say excitedly as he handed me back my schedule. When I reached out to get my schedule my finger grazed his hand and the warmth of his skin sent goose bumps throughout my body. '_If only we had Gym together'_ I thought to myself. I knew it was wrong to think of somebody that way when you've only known them for about five minutes, but I don't seem to care anymore.

"Well, now I have a friend in six of the seven periods of the day." He says as he begins to chuckle.

"So you consider me a friend? You just met me; I could be anybody for all you know." I say playfully, he chuckles so at least he finds that a little funny.

"Well. I guess I can get to know you better in first period." He says with a sly smile on his face.

"Lead the way." I said back. I realized that keeping such a far distance might not be the best approach after all…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"How does one even begin to paint?" Gale says looking at a blank piece of canvas. I look over and just smile. "You just let it happen." I say. It's the best advice I can give him. I've always been good at anything artistic. I paint or draw nearly every weekend and I've won a bunch of awards in all of the towns I've lived in. I look back over at Gale and notice he has painted a circle. "Nice circle." I say, he keeps his gaze on the paper and smiles.

Art was nice so far. It's a rather large room but there are a lot of students. Each table fits two people so Gale and I are sitting side by side. Our teacher is playing some Nirvana and sipping tea while watching what appears to be Netflix. He seems to be pretty chill, Mr. Ramsey.

Gale finally drops his paintbrush. "What's wrong?" I ask. I think he's getting frustrated.

"It's just hard. I'm not really an artistic or creative person." He explains. I nod.

"Why'd you take art then?" I ask a little confused.

"I didn't I'm actually skipping." He says with a slight grin. Skipping? I thought he said he had this class with me? Why would he be skipping on the first day? He should be in class.

"What? Why? You should be in class. It's the first day. I thought you had this class with me." I say, he just kind of chuckles. I hate to skip class, I always get caught and I have to make up work. I haven't skipped since my sophomore year, and I really would hate to do it again.

"Well. I didn't want to go to math and you seemed cooler than math." He says.

"I wouldn't say that, I'm pretty boring. But you really shouldn't skip because of me. Your education is important!" I say trying to convince him to go back to class.

"Maybe so, but I don't think you're boring, I think a better word to describe you is 'simple'." He says. He doesn't even know me, why would he say I'm simple.

"Well either or, you need to leave before Ramsey catches you." I say sounding a little bit stronger.

"Ramsey knows I'm here, he doesn't care. A teacher that watches Netflix and plays Nirvana while he's at work doesn't give a shit about kids skipping." He says. That's probably true. I really feel bad that Gale is skipping because of me. He should be learning something.

"You should be learning something." I say out loud. Then it hits me… "In fact, here, take this." I say handing him his paintbrush and scooting closer to him.

"What are you doing?" He asks curiously.

"You're going to learn something. I can't watch you just waist a period." I say leaning in. I then begin to teach him some stroke patterns with the brush. I tell him about colors and how to shade with the brush.

"It's kind of magical…." I say while painting. He is watching me closely then looks at my face.

"What's magical?" He asks. "This. The Paint. The way the brush dances on top of the paper and the way two things can work in tranquility and harmony. It's something not a lot of people notice, but it's kind of amazing in my opinion." I answer. I can't believe I just said that. I just went off about some paint and paper and he's going to think I'm weird. But who cares? I can't get too attached to him; I don't have a chance with him. He probably has like four girlfriends.

"You know what I think is even more amazing?" He asks. I look up surprised. "The way in which you can look at something so simple and something that's been done for centuries and make it seem completely foreign and new." He says. I'm surprised once again. He then picks up his brush and begins to go at the piece of paper. We still have about twenty minutes left in the period and my paper is filled with a landscape of a mountain. I'm pretty happy with it.

"Well. It looks like the new kid is pretty good." I hear a voice say behind me. I turn around to see Ramsey looking over my shoulder at my painting. My cheeks are probably red because I don't like to be publicly called out. "Do you mind?" Ramsey says while taking my painting in his hand. I kind of mutter out some strange sound but he has already taken my piece of artwork up to the front of the room and is holding it out for the rest of the class to see.

"This is what I want. Something new, something exciting." He explains. I get really embarrassed because all of the kids are going to hate me now.

"This boy knows what he's doing. What's your name, kid?" Ramsey asks me. I kind of stutter and I hear gale quietly laughing next to me while still keeping focus on his piece.

"Peeta." I say strongly.

"Everybody welcome Peeta. He knows what's up." He says in a pretty laid back tone. Everybody says "Hi" or "Hello" at the same time, so it just sounding like 45 kids moaning the same word. I look around to see a few kids not really caring about what's going on, but I see a few looking at my painting in awe. Ramsey then brings my piece back and sets it down. "You're pretty rad kid. Keep flicking paint. You could do something big one day." He says.

"Thanks I say." I'm still a little heated up because of my public acknowledgement but then I hear Gale placing his canvas in front of me. "Look." He says. He has managed to paint a black Jeep Cherokee. He definitely got a lot better than he was twenty minutes ago. Then I realize it's my car.

"Wow. Looks familiar." I say laughing. "Yeah, I decided to paint the first thing that's given me fear in life. The first thing that's ever attacked me." He says acting all hurt.

"Oh shut it. It was a car door, and I didn't even hit you that hard." I say playfully shoving him. We both laugh.

"But it is definitely better than your little circle." I say. He nods in agreement. We then catch each other's glances. His eyes are so beautiful; the grey undertone they give off is almost not human. Finally I realize I'm probably weirding him out by staring at him. I then break the silence. "So is your next class really History? Or are you skipping second period to hang out with mister simplicity over here?" He chuckles once again and replies," Yes. I do really have history, but don't really want to go to it. Want to go get some second breakfast?" He asks. My first instinct is to say no. I really hate to skip; it's just not me, but something inside is telling me to go.

"I don't really like to skip…." I start.

"Oh come on. You seem like you're smart enough to catch up in classes if you fall behind, and most teachers don't hand out a lot of work first few day of school." He adds. I frown and look down.

"You don't have to come if yo-"He starts but the bell cuts him off and he starts to stand up.

"I'm down." I say. He smiles and leads me out of the art room. I know this isn't a good thing to think, but I'm kind of glad he stayed in art…


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been active. Unfortunately I start school tomorrow (YIKES!) so updates won't come as fast. But when I have time I will definitely try to work on this. I'm beginning to like this story a bunch. I do have a lot of plans for it that I think you guys will like. So enjoy, and be patient, my education comes before this, sorry!

Chapter 3

"What if we get caught?!" I harshly whisper to Gale as we are leaving out of the back of the school. He's walking slightly ahead of me and keeps sighing.

"We won't, I do this a lot. Chill" He replies. We finally get to the back parking lot while he pulls out his keys and presses a button on one of those fancy car key things and I head a large truck in front of us unlock.

"Just hop in, where do you want to go?" He says to me while I get on the passenger side. While I'm getting in I notice that his truck smells lovely. Not that I'd expect it to smell bad, it's just not a normal smell you'd expect to smell in a truck.

"I just moved here a few weeks ago, I don't really know where anything is or what you guys have here. Why don't you just surprise me?"

Gale smiles at me and starts up the truck. As we pull out of the school I notice there are a lot of other cars leaving the school. I guess skipping is something that's normal here. It kind of makes me less nervous because I figure that if we were to get caught, they'd have to be picking only us out of like fifteen cars.

While driving Gale and I are pretty quiet, I feel like we're both pretty tuckered out because it's the first day of school and no teenager has a good sleeping schedule during the summer. It takes me a lot to not just drift off, but what I notice is that I'm completely comfortable being quiet around him. Usually I feel terribly awkward if I'm in a car with a friend and we're quiet.

Eventually we roll up to a street with a bunch of small stores and restaurants. It's actually pretty cute, but it took like twenty minutes to get here. It must be a little suburban town because where the high school is in Panem is in the middle of a huge city. This seems like a smaller little town. It's nice.

"Starbucks okay?" Gale asks while he parks on the side of the street.

"That's more than okay." I say, he smiles and we get out. We start walking down the sidewalk and I can see at the end of the block the little Starbucks sign.

"There is a Starbucks right next to the school but everybody goes there and it isn't as cozy as this one." He explains.

"Yeah, I figured that's why we came here. This place is really nice. Maybe I should skip more often." I say. Gale grins as we reach the door. Once inside the smell of fresh coffee and pastries fill my nose. It's nice to be back at a Starbucks. Where I lived before the closest Starbucks was nearly three hours away.

Gale orders a caramel macchiato and I get a caramel Frappuccino. As I reach into my back pocket I feel Gale halting my elbow. I look up.

"I got it, you're probably uncomfortable enough as it is since you've never ditched class."

"No, No, I can't let you do that. It's fine."

"Really, it's fine. I insist."

I finally give in. "Alright, but next time we come I'm buying." I say. Gale hands the barista the money and then immediately looks back at me with a surprised expression.

"So there's going to be a next time?" He asks.

I never thought about that. I shouldn't of said next time. Crap. What if I don't want to skip again, I can't. Classes will get in the way. I'll fail a test or something. But this is really nice; I kind of got over the adrenaline rush of thinking we were going to get caught.

"Maybe." I say with a smile. "I mean, if I can miss a class period without having to do much makeup work. I'm down." I say.

"I'm glad. This is fun." He says smiling. He has a gorgeous smile, it's almost godly. As I'm admiring Gale's face the barista bring out drinks to the counter.

"We better drink these on the go; the bell is going to ring in a little over twenty minutes." He says. I nod in agreement and we step outside. It's still pretty warm outside because summer isn't completely over, but I'm glad I got a cold drink.

As we get back to the truck I look over at Gale.

"I'm glad I have somebody I can ruin my education with."

. . .

When we arrive back at school we have about six minutes until the bell rings, but there is a six minute passing period. So technically twelve minutes.

"Thanks for the coffee; it really wasn't necessary for you do buy me that." I say. Gale rolls his eyes and looks over at me.

"What can I say, I'm a good friend." He says. I'm glad that he can call me his friend.

"Speaking of friends, don't you have friends you'd rather be hanging out with?" I ask. This stuck my curiosity because he looks like a pretty popular guy. I mean he has the look and physique that of a popular kid, but he's a lot nicer.

"Well. I do have a few friends, but they don't go to school here." He pauses to take a sip of his drink. "See… I'm in a band." He finally admits. He said that like it's a bad thing. I think it's kind of…hot.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. I think that's amazing." I say excitingly. I'm turn in the car seat to get more engaged in the conversation.

"No. Everybody here thinks it's lame." He explains. I do notice most of the kids here are kind of rich and snobby.

"I don't…." I say. We lock eyesight for a minute. It's strange how something as small as eye contact can take you into almost a different universe, the feeling that you get when you can really just see into somebody's eyes. It's like you can see their thoughts and their ideas.

"Well. I'm glad. Speaking of which, we are playing tonight at the Cabana. Would you like to come?" He asks. Am I really being invited to a concert from one of the members? I'm literally freaking out and my mouth is probably hitting the floor and… just wow.

"Would I like to come? No." I say. Gale then changes his mood; he looks down at his lap rather sadly. "I'd love to go." I finish. He looks up at me with his shiny grey eyes full of joy.

"Awesome! Here's an idea, I'll follow you home from school today so I know where you live then I can take you to the pre-show get together that we always have. You can come hang with us and then after the show I can take you home. Sound good?" He explains. I'm more than happy to do this. I've always wanted to go to a concert. It sounds so rad.

"Sounds amazing, I'm definitely looking forward to it." I say, I'm literally smiling from ear to ear. My happiness is interrupted by the bell sounding.

"What class do you have?" I ask.

"English, just like you." He says. We both smile for a minute. I'm really glad that we both have the day to spend with each other. It will really be cool to get to hang out with Gale's band after school as well. Hopefully I don't make too much of a fool of myself. We both exit the car and head off to class.

Today is going to be amazing…


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Hey guys. Sorry for not being active. School has been rough so far. I'm going to be doing the theater thing at my high school and my auditions are Tuesday and Wednesday and if I get in I'll basically have no more time for anything since I'm taking a lot of college classes and High School classes. Doing that and balancing theater is going to be tough. So don't expect any updates for a while. Sorry. In the meantime you should DEFINITLEY review the story and give constructive criticism. Tell me what you want to read and I'll see what I can do. Maybe I'll get a bunch of plot planned out while doing school, so send me reviews. Please J

Chapter 4

Gale and I went to our classes and what not; PHS isn't that bad from what I can conclude. We basically just spent the whole day getting to know each other. It didn't matter that we were in school or that we were supposed to be taking notes or reading our text book, what mattered was that he was by my side the whole day. I met a few of his friends, he doesn't seem to have many, but he appears to be really close with the small group that he has. I admire that about people; the people who care more about having quality over quantity in their lives. It kind of just explains a lot about somebody who doesn't want to have every friend in the world, but somebody who wants a few of the best friends possible.

After the seventh period bell Gale and I went to our lockers and I grabbed all of my homework. I was going to have to do it after the concert, I hope that thing doesn't run late.

"Ready to go?" Gale asks me. He doesn't appear to be bringing any of this textbooks or binders home.

"Yeah, but where's your homework?"

"In my locker. Why?"

"Aren't you going to do it?" He frowns.

"I don't really want to-"

"No. I'm making you do your homework."

"But-"

"No Buts, it won't be hard. I'll help you; we have the exact same assignments." I explain. I'm not letting him throw away his education. He deserves that.

"ugh…Fine." He says. We walk down the hall to his locker and he opens it up and throws a few of his binders and books into his bag. Then he closes the door and looks over at me with a pained face.

"Happy?" He asks while sliding his bag over his shoulder.

"Yep. And don't look so sad, it's not that bad." I say. We walk out of the school and to our cars.

"So I'll just follow you home and then we can make our way to the Cabana." He says opening his truck door. I do the same with my jeep.

"Sounds good. See you there."

I pull out of the parking space and start making my way out of the school's parking lot. Gale is following me and when we get on the street we start heading for my house.

Like I said before, I really enjoy driving. All of the scenery and stuff is amazing. It kind of relaxes me.

Eventually we pull up to my residence and I park in the driveway while Gale takes refuge on the street. I jump out and run over to the tuck as I open the truck's passenger door I explain to gale that I'm going to run in and tell my parents where I'm going.

"Okay. Hey, can I come in and meet your parents?" He asks.

My parents are pretty chill parents, but I'm afraid they'll jump to conclusions about the whole gay thing or mention it. I don't want them to accidently say something that scares Gale off. But it would also be weird if I said no. So I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Uh…um… Yeah Sure!" I say, trying to not sound all that nervous. As soon as he goes to get out of the truck I bolt inside to see my dad in his Pajamas at the dinner table sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. I'm assuming mom is in bed, like I said, they work nights, so their 4pm is like the middle of the night.

"Hi Petta!" My dad says. "How was scho-" I cut him off. Giving strict commands

"A friend is coming in to say hi. Don't mention anything about homosexuality. Go get mom, put on pants. Please and thank you." My dad looks very confused and bewildered, but he kind of gets the message I thing. He nods and turns around and goes upstairs. Right when he gets out of sight I hear the front door opening.

"What was that about?" Gale asks.

"Oh nothing. By the way, my parents work nights, so it's like the middle of the night for them right now. They should be right down in a minute. You want anything to drink or eat?" I ask opening the fridge.

"Oh is this a bad time to see them then? Should I just go wait in the truck? I'm fine thank you." He says looking really concerned.

"No it's fine. They usually like to meet my new friends." I explain. I hear footsteps coming down the staircase and soon I see my parents dressed. It's kind of talented how fast my mom can get up from a deep slumber and throw on clothes and look like she's been up all day in under a minute. I feel like I'm the only one who knows she's just woken. Dad looks a little more tired than her, but my mom is good at faking it.

"Mom, Dad, this is Gale." I say,

"Hello Gale!" My mother says smiling her beautiful smile and giving him a hug. My mother is a very loving person, she hugs a lot too. Gale smiles and says hello and then turns to my dad who is a little more stolid.

"Hello Mr. Mellark." Gale says offering his hand. My dad shakes it and gives a stern smile. "Call me Roger." My dad says. Gale smiles and nods. My dad is always a little more stern when I have friends at the house, especially male friends. He kind of treats my male friends like his daughter's friends who happen to be males, even though I'm a boy. It's a little strange, but he's just protective.

"So Gale is in a band and has invited me to go see him play tonight at the Cabana." I explain.

"Oh… A rocker" Mom says entranced. My mother was in a band when she was in high school she's said. She then starts to ask Gale about his band and gets really into the conversation. My dad on the other hand just looks worried and dour.

"That's really cool!" Gale says in response to my mother's explanation of her band when she was our age. She seems to be fine with it, but then my dad starts.

"What's the Cababa? Do you play for a punky crowd? What time does your thing start? When will you be back?"

"Oh Roger…" My mom says frowning.

"I'm sorry Roger. It's the _Cabana_. It's a small performance hall downtown. And I wouldn't say we play for a very _punky_ crowd. I believe our show begins at seven and should be over at around eight. I would have Peeta home no later than eight thirty." Gale says in a very polite and intellectual tone. It doesn't sound like him at all.

"Wow. Eight thirty? That sounds pretty early for a concert. You can have him home by eleven thirty if you wan-" My mom started.

"Melissa." My dad cuts my mom off. "Where will you two be going between the time after the concert and let's say eleven?" My dad questions sternly.

"Well I honestly wasn't planning on staying with Gale after the concert." I explain looking to Gale. I don't want to impose on him.

"Well I wasn't planning on keeping him out after the concert was over either, but as a matter of fact we do have homework we need to finish. It turns our Peeta and I have nearly every class together. We could go to my house and finish it after the concert and then I could bring him home whenever you please, if that's okay with you two." Gale explains. That seems like a pretty good idea because I wanted to finish my homework and help Gale with his anyways. My mom looks like that's a great idea too, but my dad, who was leaning on the counter, stands up straight when he heard Gale mention going to his house.

"I don't know if that would be acceptable having you two alone-" My mom and I are literally giving him two death glares. I think he forgot the whole part about us not being….together. Whenever I've brought a guy to the house it's usually been a date, he probably just forgot, but still. Wow.

"Oh Roger, stop being silly. You two have fun. And 'break a leg' tonight Gale!" My mom says enthusiastically, and yet nervously.

"But-" My dad starts and is cut off again by my mother's glare.

"Fine….Peeta, a word." My dad says. Gale gives me a confused face and I am probably the same pigment that of a tomato at the moment. I give him an 'I Don't Know' look and follow my dad upstairs. We go into the office room and he shuts the door behind me.

"What kind of friend is Gale?" My dad says, not being stern at all, just worried.

"He's just a friend dad, and you really need to pay better attention when I say not to mention anything gay-related."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Really. I just worry having you go to a boy's house, especially late at night."

"Dad… He's not my boyfriend. We are just friends. And I've only known him for a little under ten hours." I explain.

"That's exactly my point, Peeta."

"Dad…I'm going to be eighteen in a month. I'm fine." I explain.

"I know. But I just worry about you." He says. I kind of get where he's coming from, he doesn't want to see his son get hurt. But he kind of needs to realize that I'm not his little boy anymore.

"I appreciate that, but we have to go. I'll be back by eleven." I say opening the office door. My dad just nods and I quickly make my way down the stairs to see Gale and my mother having an animated conversation about bar chords or something.

"Well. You two go have fun!" My mom says. My dad makes his way downstairs and warns us," And no drinking or drugs or se-" My mother literally almost slapped him. I almost slapped him. My mother then as quickly as he started to say 'sex' says," Goodbye!" loudly. How embarrassing is it that can't be a part of anything secret. I look over to Gale to see his cheeks a little red. Oh my god. He heard what my dad says. I literally just don't want to go now. My god.

"Goodbye Misses Mellark." Gale says and I open the front door and make my way out. Gale follows. This is going to be an embarrassing, awkward, and uncomfortable car ride…


End file.
